In Canada, They Serve Cocktails With Severed Toes

According to Google’s Year End Zeitgeist, the most frequent cocktail-related search by Canadians in 2013 had to do with a drink that featured a severed toe. WTF?

Okay, here’s the backstory to this bizarre story from our northern neighbors according to The Spirits Business. A hotel bar in Dawson City, Canada became famous this year for serving the Sourtoe Cocktail, a shot of whiskey that uses an amputated toe as a garnish. (WTF?)

Drinkers aren’t supposed to swallow the toe, just let it touch their lips when they take the shot (again, WTF?) When a bar patron accidentally swallowed the garnish (paying a mandatory $500 fine), the hotel went public seeking donations of more amputated toes. Here’s the ad that ran on the hotel’s website:

“Got frostbite? The Downtown Hotel in Dawson City, Yukon, is currently seeking toes for its World Famous Sourtoe Cocktail. Donor will be forever immortalized in the Sourtoe Hall of Fame.”

According to the Sourtoe Cocktail Club, there have been eight toes donated over the years, one of which was severed by a lawnmower. And I say again, WTF?